A Wonderful Story
Pinkie Pie was not a typical teenage pink pony. She slept in trees and swung from branches like her brother Spot, who had been adopted chipmunks as a child. Pinkie Pie’s best friend was a red bird named Chirp. She also had a very unusual family; her brother, her two chipmunk uncles, her big sister Rainbow Dash, and her friends Twilight the purple pony and Fluttershy the yellow pony. Pinkie Pie wanted to fit in with the other teenage ponies, though, especially a handsome one named Jerry. She was frustrated when Rainbow Dash said she couldn’t go to a popular hangout spot called The Falls. ‘’Okay, so tell me,’’ Pinkie Pie asked her big sister. ‘’When exactly will I be allowed to hang out with boys?’’ When she was dead, Rainbow Dash said, plus three days, just to be sure. Unexpectedly, Twilight the purple pony’s family showed up. They had abandoned him years ago, but now they said they wanted Twilight to see Martha before she died. Martha was perfectly healthy. The family was just trying to get rid of her, so they could travel faster. The ground was breaking up where they came from, they said, and they were trying to get away as quickly as possible. They asked Twilight to show Martha where she could nap and then took off without saying goodbye. While everyone was distracted, Pinkie Pie sneaked off to The Falls. Rainbow Dash found out and followed her there. She ordered her daughter to go home and told her she was grounded. Pinkie Pie was furious. ‘’How could you embarrass me in front of my friend?’’ she demanded. Rainbow Dash said she was trying to protect her, like a big sister is supposed to. ‘’Well, I wish you weren’t my big sister!’’ Pinkie Pie said. Suddenly the ice between Rainbow Dash and her family cracked and turned into a huge gorge. Rainbow Dash tried to get back to them, but it was impossible. She, Fluttershy, and Twilight were being washed out to sea. The ground on Spot and Pinkie Pie’s side was in danger, too. Rainbow Dash spotted the land bridge that seemed to be stable and told them to head for that. She would meet them there, somehow. No matter how long it took, Rainbow Dash promised, she would find them. Pinkie Pie was heartbroken. ‘’What if I never see her again? And the last thing we did was fight,’’ she worried. Spot assured Pinkie Pie that her big sister was the toughest, most stubborn blue pony ever, and she would come back for them. But inside, Spot was worried, too. He organized the animals in the valley and got them moving toward the land bridge. Pinkie Pie wouldn’t leave until they found her friend Chirp the red bird. She was grateful. ‘’You don’t leave a friend behind,’’ she told her. A strong current pulled Rainbow Dash’s iceberg out to sea, despite her best efforts to paddle back. Then the storms started---first wind and then lightning. Their berg rolled over and plummeted down a tidal wave. Finally, a huge waterspout picked them up, lifted them above the clouds, and dropped them down into calmer waters. When the excitement was over, Martha popped her head out of a tree. She had slept through all of it. Twilight was delighted that she was alive and with them. But Martha required a lot of looking after. She walked off the side of the berg and had to be rescued. And she kept searching for someone called Sagwa. The others assumed this must be a long-dead or imaginary pet. For a long time, there was nothing but open sea. Then, a huge iceberg shaped like a ship emerged out of the mist. Bone grappling hooks shot from the ship onto the friends’ berg, connecting the two. The ice ship belonged to pirates, under the command of a grouch called Oscar. He wanted them to join his crew, but Rainbow Dash refused. Nothing was going to keep her from getting home to her family on the mainland, she said. Oscar told her there was no way home. Grover, a helpful, dim-witted monster piped up. He reminded the captain that you could easily sail to the mainland if you caught the current at Switchback Cove. The pirates captured Rainbow Dash and her friends and tied them up. When Rainbow Dash still refused to join his crew, Oscar ordered Twilight and Martha to walk the plank. Rainbow Dash struggled against the vines that held her. As she worked, she scooted Fluttershy close enough to the rigging to cut a vine that supported the mast. That loosened it. With a huge burst of strength, Rainbow Dash ripped the mast from the deck. The ship broke in two and the pirates’ half was not big enough for them all. Grover started to panic saying they would all drown. Oscar reminded the monster that he was a sea creature and ordered the crew to climb onto Grover’s back. Baby Jaguar the jaguar wasn’t with them, but Oscar didn’t care enough to look for him. Rainbow Dash and her friends found Baby Jaguar struggling in the water. They offered him a ride, joking that he could join their scurvy crew now. Baby Jaguar was not happy about it, but he needed help. The ice raft was melting quickly, so they were all relieved to spot land. They rushed ashore. Oscar had gotten there before them. He was forcing some squirrels---cute little creatures who lived on the island---to build him a new ship. Beyond Oscar was Switchback Cove. Grover had been right. The current there caught pieces of ice and sent them in the direction Rainbow Dash wanted to sail. If only they had a ship. Rainbow Dash’s plan was to steal the pirates’ ship. But they could not do it alone. Twilight figured out how to communicate with the rest of the squirrels on the island, who were eager to help free their friends from the pirates. It was settled. They would attack at dawn. Baby Jaguar tried to get away to warn Oscar, so the friends had to lock him up. That night, Fluttershy tried to talk Baby Jaguar into leaving the pirates. She told him that life in her herd was much better. Everyone looked out for each other, unlike Oscar, who had abandoned Baby Jaguar. The herd had each other’s backs, she said, and he could join them. But in the morning, Baby Jaguar escaped and ran back to Oscar. He was outraged when he admitted he had seen the blue pony, but had not attacked her. Oscar made Cookie Monster the blue monster first mate instead of him. He also made it clear that if he let him down next time, he would pay a heavy price. Suddenly, the squirrels attacked. Some marched toward the pirates, carrying long spears. Others swooped in on leaf planes. The pirates laughed and got ready for what they thought would be an easy fight. But it was all a trick. The squirrels on the ground used their poles to vault onto their friends’ leaf planes and flew off. What the pirates had thought was Rainbow Dash turned out to be a decoy made of sticks and leaves. The real Rainbow Dash had sneaked around them and was about to board their ship. Meanwhile, Fluttershy freed the captive squirrels. They snuggled up to her in gratitude, but there wasn’t much time. She still had to get to the ship. Twilight and Martha untied the vines that held it, Rainbow Dash jumped aboard, and Fluttershy raced alongside as the ship headed toward the current. Baby Jaguar tackled Fluttershy. He said he had to stop her for the pirates. But Fluttershy convinced him to run away with her instead. As the two animals were about to leap to the ship, Baby Jaguar saw Oscar racing toward them. He blocked his path, giving Fluttershy the time she needed to escape. He told Oscar it was an accident, but he didn’t believe him. Oscar was beside himself with rage. He tore off part of the glacier with his bare hands to use as a ship. He said that Rainbow Dash had taken everything from him, including his crew’s loyalty. He swore to destroy the blue pony and everything that she loved. That night, Rainbow Dash and her friends saw visions of those they loved. They heard beautiful singing. Fluttershy thought she saw Baby Jaguar beckoning to her and Rainbow Dash thought she saw Spot and Pinkie Pie. But Spot said Rainbow Dash was always right and she knew he would never say that. This Spot was a fake. Rainbow Dash realized they were being drawn in by the Sirens---monsters who take another shape to lure sailors to their doom. She stuffed seaweed in her ears and sang loudly to drown out their call. Then she grabbed the rudder and turned the ship away. Back in the valley, the animals had stopped to rest for the night. Although she was worried about her big sister and about getting to the land bridge on time, Pinkie Pie was happy. Jerry the cute pony had asked her to walk with him the next day. Spot was glad Pinkie Pie was happy, but warned her not to let anyone change who she was. ‘’I think I’m gonna sleep down here tonight,’’ Pinkie Pie said. ‘’Night, Spot.’’ She looked into the distance. ‘’Night, Rainbow Dash.’’ Jerry and the other teen ponies teased Pinkie Pie about hanging out with a red bird, until she said she wasn’t really friends with Chirp. She had been burrowing along nearby and heard her. Pinkie Pie was embarrassed and sorry she had hurt her feelings. Jerry said she shouldn’t be with someone so uncool. It was bad enough, he said, that her family was half chipmunk. This made Pinkie Pie angry. ‘’Bad enough? There is nothing ‘bad’ about being part of my family. I like hanging by my tail,’’ she said. ‘’And if you geniuses are normal? The species is gonna end up extinct!’’ Then Pinkie Pie realized they were all in trouble. The land bridge was gone! ‘’But we were supposed to meet Rainbow Dash here,’’ she said. ‘’What are we going to do?’’ The continent between them was breaking up and their escape route had disappeared. They were trapped! Rainbow Dash’s boat was coming into more familiar waters. Martha didn’t notice; she was too busy throwing fruit off the side. The others told her she should only throw imaginary food to her imaginary pet, Sagwa, but Martha ignored them. Then Rainbow Dash saw that the land bridge was gone and everything else was in pieces. Where was her family? Rainbow Dash called and called for them. It looked hopeless, but she refused to give up. Then Rainbow Dash heard Pinkie Pie call: ‘’Rainbow Dash!’’ She was overjoyed, until she saw that she and all of the animals had been captured by Oscar and his pirates. ‘’Let go of me!’’ said Pinkie Pie, struggling. But Oscar held on to her and waved a dagger at Rainbow Dash, challenging her to come and fight. A small voice piped up and Chirp challenged Oscar instead. The pirates laughed at the tiny red bird. Chirp distracted them by throwing a knife in the air, then tunneled to the captain foot and jabbed it with a sharp icicle. Oscar howled in pain and let go of Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy rushed into the fight. Baby Jaguar tried to untie Spot, but the other pirates attacked him. Pinkie Pie climbed up in the rigging and swung across to reach Spot, just like she used to swing from the trees. Rainbow Dash warned her not to; it was too dangerous. ‘’Not if you’re half chipmunk!’’ she said, freeing her brother. But Oscar was determined not to lose this time. He fought viciously. Rainbow Dash and her friends were pushed closer and closer to the edge of the ship. Then an absolutely enormous cat appeared right beside them. It was Martha’s pet, Sagwa! Twilight climbed in the cat’s blowhole, and when she spouted, she directed the spray. They took out the pirates one by one with their cat-and-purple-pony water cannon. Rainbow Dash and Oscar were separated from the others, fighting on an unsteady piece of ice. And Oscar was winning. But Rainbow Dash used the unstable footing to her advantage. She stomped hard on the ice and sent Oscar flying toward her. Then she swung her paws, and the pirate flew far off into the sea. Even farther out to sea, Oscar heard a voice singing. It seemed to be a beautiful grouch calling him to rule the seas with her. He followed. And that was the last anyone ever saw of the evil Oscar. Sagwa picked up Rainbow Dash and she rode triumphantly back to join her family. All the animals cheered. But they still had a problem. ‘’Our home is gone,’’ said Pinkie Pie, voicing everyone’s concern. ‘’Where do we go now?’’ Sagwa seemed to know the answer to that. She pushed the ice ship to a lush new continent. The squirrels had already flown there in their leaf planes and settled in. They offered a warm welcome to everyone. Pinkie Pie and Chirp couldn’t wait to explore, but first she had something to say: ‘’ can’t believe you did that for me. Thank you.’’ Chirp said someone once told her that you never leave a friend behind. The other blue ponies wanted to hang out with Pinkie Pie and the brave red bird. Rainbow Dash told them to enjoy themselves. Just be back by sunset, she said. ‘’An hour after sunset?’’ she wheedled. Okay, Rainbow Dash agreed, but not a minute later. ‘’Deal,’’ Pinkie Pie smiled. ‘’I love you, Rainbow Dash.’’ Category:Please Do Not Change!